When interim manager Lee Carsley announces his next England squad on Thursday, there will be plenty of Aston Villa supporters looking out for the name of Morgan Rogers on the list.
The 22-year-old began 2024 playing in the Championship for Middlesbrough but, in a whirlwind nine months, he has become a mainstay of the Villa side that is competing in the Champions League and is once more stationed near the top of the Premier League table.
“That’s how quickly football can change,” Rogers said in an interview with The Guardian in August.
“It is mad to know where I’ve got to in a short space of time but that is also what motivates me to think: ‘Where can I be in another year or three years?’ I don’t just want to stop here.”
Rogers has impressed many observers in the early weeks of this season, scoring twice for England Under-21s in the most recent international break and netting his first club goal of the campaign in Villa’s 2-2 draw at Ipswich on Sunday.
Is a first senior international call-up set to follow?
‘It was like watching Jonah Lomu in his prime’
In what has been a fine start to the season for Aston Villa – Unai Emery’s side have taken 13 points from their first six Premier League matches – Rogers’ performances have been a major positive.
Playing in a central position behind the main forward, Rogers’ understanding with striker Ollie Watkins is developing week by week.
Rogers set up Watkins for Villa’s equaliser against Wolves on 21 September and also provided a tap-in for Jhon Duran to wrap up a 3-1 win.
Against Ipswich, Rogers calmly collected from Jacob Greaves’ poor clearance, swapped passes with Watkins and fired into the bottom corner to score his first Premier League goal of the season.
However, for those unsure or unaware of Rogers’ ability at the top level, it was his display in Villa’s 2-0 defeat by Arsenal on 24 August which perhaps did most to bring his talents to wider attention.
Speaking after that game, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said Rogers was “the outstanding midfield player by a long way” and compared his powerful running to that of a New Zealand rugby union legend.
“Not many players of his size possess that amount of skill, pace and power and it’s so difficult to stop,” said ex-Liverpool and England midfielder Redknapp.
“He was unplayable. Sometimes when he picked the ball up and was brushing people away, it was like watching Jonah Lomu in his prime. He was that powerful.
“Lee Carsley will have to be looking at him, surely. I’m not saying he’s going to get into the England team all of a sudden, but there were so many parts of his game which were a joy to watch.
“Jude Bellingham is our standout number 10 but there are parts of what Bellingham does that we all admire that Rogers was doing.
“Bellingham’s goals are such an important factor of his game and that is what Rogers is going to have to add.”
Carsley chose not to include Rogers in his squad for September’s Nations League games against Republic of Ireland and Finland.
Instead he was selected for the Under-21 side, a decision which “surprised” Villa boss Unai Emery, who said Rogers was “not a player for the second team”.
Carsley is clearly spoilt for choice in that area of the field. Real Madrid’s Bellingham has been struggling with injury in recent weeks and was not included in England’s most recent squad. Cole Palmer of Chelsea and Manchester City’s Phil Foden were originally named but later withdrew.
How Rogers reached the Premier League
Rogers joined West Bromwich Albion at under-nine level and was aged 16 when made his first-team debut for the club in February 2019.
He joined Manchester City later that year and featured alongside players such as Palmer and James McAtee in their academy set-up, while also gaining experience during loan spells with Lincoln, Bournemouth and Blackpool.
A move to Middlesbrough followed in the summer of 2023 and he scored in every round from the second round onwards as the Championship club reached last season’s Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Halesowen-born Rogers returned to the West Midlands in February, joining Villa for a reported initial fee of £8m which could rise to £15m, and he has since scored four goals in 23 appearances.